The Federal
Bureaucracy
Ch. 15
What Is a Bureaucracy?
Three features distinguish bureaucracies:
• __________________: Bureaucracies are based on
a ____________________with a chain of command
running from top to bottom.
• __________________: Each ____________, or
person who works for the organization, has certain
defined duties and responsibilities.
• __________________: The bureaucracy does its
work according to a set of established
_______________________________________.
Major Elements of the Federal Bureaucracy
• The federal bureaucracy is all of the
_______________________________________________
_____________________________through which the
Federal Government operates.
• The ________________is the chief administrator of the
Federal Government.
• In order to enact and enforce policy, Congress and the
President have created an ___________________—the
government’s many administrators and agencies.
• The chief organizational feature of the federal
bureaucracy is its
_______________________________________________
______________________________________________.
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Section 1 Assessment
1. All of the following are characteristics of bureaucracies EXCEPT
(a) hierarchical authority.
(b) formalized rules.
(c) lack of formal organization.
(d) job specialization.
The Executive Office of the President
• What is the Executive Office of the President?
• What are the duties of the White House Office
and the National Security Council?
• What are the additional agencies in the
Executive Office of the President that assist
the President?
The Executive Office of the President
• The __________________________(the EOP)
is an umbrella agency of separate agencies.
• The EOP serves as the President’s right arm,
_____________________________________
_____________________________________.
• The EOP was established by
_____________________________.
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The White House Office and National Security Council
The White House Office
• The White House Office is
comprised of the
_______________________
______________________.
• Staff positions in the White
House Office include
______________________,
assistants to the President,
press secretary, the counsel
to the President, and the
President’s physician.
The National Security Council
• The National Security
Council (NSC) acts to
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
______________________.
• Members include the Vice
President and the
secretaries of state and
defense.
The West Wing of the White House
The President’s closest advisors work in the West Wing of
the White House, near the oval office.
Additional Agencies
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
•
The OMB’s major task is the _________________________________, which the
President must submit to Congress.
Council of Economic Advisers
•
The Council of Economic Advisers consists of three of the country’s leading
economists, and acts as the President’s major source of information and advice on
the nation’s economy.
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Section 2 Assessment
1. All of the following are correct about the Executive Office of the President (the EOP)
EXCEPT that the EOP
(a) is an umbrella agency consisting of several agencies.
(b) serves as the right arm to the President.
(c) acts as a body of equal power to the President.
(d) aids the President in his execution of federal power.
2. The National Security Council serves as
(a) the President’s advisory board on all matters of national security.
(b) a watchdog commission for the Central Intelligence Agency.
(c) the civilian command component of the military.
(d) none of the above.
The Executive Departments
• What are the origins of the executive
departments, and how did they develop?
• How are members of the Cabinet chosen?
• What role does the Cabinet play in the
President’s decisions?
Executive Departments
• The executive departments, often called the
__________________________, are the
traditional units of federal administration.
• Each department is
___________________________, except for the
Department of Justice, whose work is directed by
the _____________________________.
• Each department is made up of a number of
subunits, both staff and line.
• Today, the executive departments vary a great
deal in terms of visibility, size, and importance.
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The Cabinet
• The Cabinet is an informal __________ body brought
together by the President to serve his needs.
• By tradition, the
______________________________________form
the Cabinet.
• The President __________the head of each of the
executive departments, which are then subject to
_________________________.
• Cabinet members serve as both head of their
respective departments and as advisors to the
President.
Section 3 Assessment
1. All heads of the executive departments are known as secretaries except for the
(a) head of the Department of Justice—the attorney general.
(b) head of the Department of Defense—the supreme general.
(c) head of the Department of the Treasury—the treasurer.
(d) chief of the Department of the Interior—the forest ranger.
2. Members of the Cabinet act as heads of their departments as well as
(a) advisors to the President.
(b) congressional liaisons.
(c) heads of the branches of the armed forces.
(d) none of the above.
Independent Agencies
• Why does the government create
independent agencies?
• What are the characteristics of independent
executive agencies and independent
regulatory commissions?
• How are government corporations structured?
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Why Independent Agencies?
• The independent agencies are created by
_________________ and located outside the
executive departments.
• Independent agencies have been formed for
numerous reasons, including:
– being assigned a task or function that does not fit well
within the existing departmental structure;
– ____________________________________________
___________________________________________;
– being created outside the departmental structure by
accident.
The Independent Executive Agencies
• The
________________________________include
most of the independent agencies.
• The most important difference between the
independent executive agencies and the 14
executive departments is that they simply
______________________________________.
• Examples of independent executive agencies
include _____________, the General Services
Administration, and the ______________.
Independent Regulatory Commissions
• The ________________________________stand
out among the independent agencies because
they are largely beyond the reach of presidential
direction and control.
• The regulatory commissions are quasi-legislative
and quasi-judicial, meaning that
________________________________________
________________________________________
_______________________________________.
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The Government Corporations
• ______________________________are also
within the executive branch and subject to the
President’s direction and control.
• Government corporations were established by
Congress to carry out certain
________________________________________
_______________________________________.
• There are now over 50 government corporations,
including the ___________________,
___________________, and the Tennessee Valley
Authority.
Section 4 Assessment
1. Independent agencies are formed for all of the following reasons EXCEPT
(a) to create an agency immune from the system of checks and balances.
(b) their function pertains to a peculiar or sensitive task.
(c) their function does not fit within the structure of the executive departments.
(d) keeping their function out of the influence of partisan or pressure politics.
2. The U.S. Postal Service is an example of
(a) an independent regulatory commission.
(b) a Cabinet department.
(c) and independent executive agency.
(d) a government corporation.
The Civil Service
• How did the civil service develop?
• What are the characteristics of the current
civil service?
• What restrictions are placed on the political
activity of members of the civil service?
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Development of the Civil Service
• The ________________is that group of public
employees who perform the administrative work of
government, excluding the armed forces.
• The use of ___________________—the practice of
giving government jobs to supporters and friends—
was in use throughout most of the nineteenth
century.
• The _____________________, also known as the
Civil Service Act of 1883, laid the foundation of the
present federal civil service system, and set merit as
the basis for hiring in most civil service positions.
The Civil Service Today
Profile of Civil Service Employees
•
•
•
The Office of Personnel
Management is the central
clearinghouse in the federal
recruiting, examining, and hiring
process.
The Merit Systems Protection
Board enforces the merit principle
in the federal bureaucracy.
Congress sets the pay and other
job conditions for everyone who
works for the Federal Government,
except for postal employees.
Political Activities
Several laws and a number of OPM regulations place restrictions on
the political activities of federal civil servants:
• The _________________________allows federal workers to vote in
elections, but forbids them from taking part in partisan political
activities.
• The
__________________________________________________relaxes
many of the restrictions of the Hatch Act. It still forbids federal
workers from:
1. _____________________________________________________;
2. engaging in party work on government property or while on the
job;
3. collecting political contributions from subordinates or the general
public; or
4. _____________________________________________________.
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Section 5 Assessment
1. The Pendleton Act established
(a) that the Supreme Court would regulate personnel decisions.
(b) that any U.S. citizen was guaranteed a civil service job.
(c) merit as the basis for hiring and other personnel actions in the civil service.
(d) the basis of the spoils system.
2. The function of the Office of Personnel Management is to
(a) aid in the staffing of civil service positions through civil service tests and other means.
(b) establish workplace safety standards.
(c) regulate the hiring practices of private American companies.
(d) ensure that political patronage continues to be the standard for employment in the civil
service.
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